Dosing Alk, how do you do it? - Coral issues

[CanuckReefer]

So I'm pretty depressed about my tank lately. I've lost most of my corals, never had many to begin with... I have spent lots of money on corals only to have them die usually a month later.

-So it's a 90G with 2- 120watt led lights, skimmer works good, I have carbon and GFO in the sump, water change every 4 weeks, Ph7.9, Ca400, Mg1350,Phos0.08, Alk is all over the place.
I check everything weekly and I manually dose baking soda to maintain alk. I am adding usually 2 tblsp a week just to maintain alk at around 7-8. I think the fluctuations are what my problem is.

I have tons of coralline, I have zoas growing like crazy, GSP, Kenya tree, Xenia but that's pretty much it. I can't keep,birdsnest, torches, Duncan's, or any hard coral. The bases always start to deteriorate over time and the coral inside usually dies.

I have removed all fish for QT and am going fishless for 8 weeks to rid itch. In this time I want to get my minerals sorted out.

What is the easiest way to constantly dose alk so I can keep it constant. And should I be using baking soda to maintain alk?

Also I use rodi water and my tank is a little over a yr old.


Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[jason604]

U should look into a automatic doser. Try the marine magic. Cheap and effective

[Amadod2]

a doser is your best option, i have mine dosing 24 times a day, and my levels are pretty consistent, they only sway if the corals are consuming more due to growth. i do check my levels every week and adjust if i need to i keep my alk at 9 normally

[LoJack]

you need soda ash, not baking soda. There is a recipe to turn regular old baking soda into a useable form of Soda Ash by superheating it on a cookie sheet in your oven … not sure on the recipe but a quick google search can give you that answer.

Your best bit is a 2 part system which is for calcium and alkalinity. A doser is the easiest way, but some people add chemicals by hand daily to keep up with the uptake of their corals.

I dose calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium through peristaltic pumps 4 times throughout each 24 hour day to maintain my levels.

If I were you I'd also start with doing more frequent water changes to help with stability. If you are dosing nothing right now, and going a month between water changes, your water is stripped to the bone, and then the corals go through shock with the influx of new water. Smaller changes more frequently helps keep things more stable.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by CanuckReefer

So I'm pretty depressed about my tank lately. I've lost most of my corals, never had many to begin with... I have spent lots of money on corals only to have them die usually a month later.

-So it's a 90G with 2- 120watt led lights, skimmer works good, I have carbon and GFO in the sump, water change every 4 weeks, Ph7.9, Ca400, Mg1350,Phos0.08, Alk is all over the place.
I check everything weekly and I manually dose baking soda to maintain alk. I am adding usually 2 tblsp a week just to maintain alk at around 7-8. I think the fluctuations are what my problem is.

I have tons of coralline, I have zoas growing like crazy, GSP, Kenya tree, Xenia but that's pretty much it. I can't keep,birdsnest, torches, Duncan's, or any hard coral. The bases always start to deteriorate over time and the coral inside usually dies.

I have removed all fish for QT and am going fishless for 8 weeks to rid itch. In this time I want to get my minerals sorted out.

What is the easiest way to constantly dose alk so I can keep it constant. And should I be using baking soda to maintain alk?

Also I use rodi water and my tank is a little over a yr old.


Any help is appreciated, thanks!

I don't think a fluctuation between 7 and 8 is responsible for the losses. It must be something else. And like others said, you need a doser to automate the dosing but I have dosed manually everyday for almost a year (upto 2dkh everyday in my old tank) with no ill effect.

[CanuckReefer]

Yah I defiantly don't dose every day but I check my levels every week and add what is necessary at that point. So during the month I might add Ca twice and Mg maybe once to bump it up. I always used baked baking soda, but that's basically to keep my ph up I thought.

I defiantly need a dosing pump no doubt. Just didn't want to spend $300 on one.

Sometimes I'll check my alk if the corals are receding and it will be 5-6. So I'll make up a BS solution and add it slowly. This happens all the time. So my alk can swing between 5-8 sometimes.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by CanuckReefer

Yah I defiantly don't dose every day but I check my levels every week and add what is necessary at that point. So during the month I might add Ca twice and Mg maybe once to bump it up. I always used baked baking soda, but that's basically to keep my ph up I thought.

I defiantly need a dosing pump do doubt. Just didn't want to spend $300 on one.

Baking soda or soda ash can be used. One increases the ph while the other decreases. And I believe baking soda is a bit tougher to dissolve that ash but I can be wrong.

[jason604]

Originally Posted by CanuckReefer

Yah I defiantly don't dose every day but I check my levels every week and add what is necessary at that point. So during the month I might add Ca twice and Mg maybe once to bump it up. I always used baked baking soda, but that's basically to keep my ph up I thought.

I defiantly need a dosing pump no doubt. Just didn't want to spend $300 on one.

Sometimes I'll check my alk if the corals are receding and it will be 5-6. So I'll make up a BS solution and add it slowly. This happens all the time. So my alk can swing between 5-8 sometimes.

The marine magic doser is 169$ shipping included